Teen arrested in Joliet double-slaying

Sjolante Q. Crowder

Booking photo of Sjolante Q. Crowder

Booking photo of Sjolante Q. Crowder

Dennis SullivanSpecial to the Tribune

An 18-year-old Joliet teen suspected of killing two other teens this week in what police say was a gang-related shooting was arrested today and charged with two counts of murder and one count of attempted murder.

Sjolante Q. Crowder, whose last known address was the 5900 block of Englewood Avenue, was taken into custody on an arrest warrant late this morning inside an apartment building on the 200 block of Richards Street. The arrest occurred about five blocks from Tuesday evening's deadly ambush.

Chief Mike Trafton said the tip that led to Crowder's arrest was the latest in a series of citizen assists with the shooting on the 700 block of Second Avenue that began with "numerous" 911 calls early Tuesday evening and included descriptions of the shooter and his actions.

A grateful Trafton said, "The public really stepped up on this."

Police responding to the 6:50 p.m. Tuesday calls found Adrian Knox, 17, lying in a driveway, shot near his armpit in the left side of the chest. He was declared dead at 7:27 p.m.

Police found Delasse Lanier, 18, of the 1000 block of Ridgewood Avenue, inside a nearby apartment building, shot in the back. He was declared dead at 7:47 p.m. Trafton said a third shooting victim drove himself to a nearby hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.

Witnesses told police a person fitting Crowder's description approached the group of 10-15 persons from the east and opened fire at close range. "I can't say whether it was two feet or three feet," Trafton said, "it was close. He snuck up on them from behind and began shooting multiple times."

Cmdr. Brian Benton said the small-caliber handgun used in the shooting wasn't recovered.

Benton said police responding to this morning's tip about Crowder, who has gang ties, spotted him sitting on the front porch and pursued him into the building.

Crowder's arrest warrant was approved early this morning, with bail set at $7 million.

Trafton said he and the police force "are fed up” with gang violence but can only react. "All we can do when the crime occurs is solve it."

The murders of Knox and Lanier occurred within 24 hours of a Joliet teen's fatal shooting inside an apartment building on the city's west side.

Darrel Perkins, 53, of the 1000 block of Lois Place, is charged with first-degree murder in connection with the shooting death of Tevin Bridges, 18, around 9:45 p.m. Monday.

Trafton said Perkins shot Bridges in the forehead with a black .38-caliber handgun after Bridges approached him inside the first-floor apartment "with balled-up fists." Bridges reportedly was angry because Perkins told him it would cost a dollar for two cigarettes. Responding police found Bridges' body in the hall outside the apartment.

Trafton said police took Perkins to the police station for questioning. At the same time, other officers obtained and executed a search warrant for Perkins' apartment, allegedly finding "ammunition and other physical evidence of a shooting."

Perkins was charged with homicide, based on the evidence from his apartment, statements from neighbors and security video of the hallway implicating him, Trafton said. Perkins is also charged with being a convicted felon illegally possessing a weapon and illegal possession of ammunition. He is also charged with misdemeanor possession of cannabis.

Benton said Perkins "has a criminal history in a few other states as well as Illinois, but the previous offenses are for drugs and other non-violent offenses." He said police recovered the weapon from a garbage container in the apartment building.

Trafton said the one bright spot in the tragedies is that the arrest and charging of the two suspects demonstrated investigators' "extreme dedication.”